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<title>just when the universe couldn't have gotten any more unfair (it showed him he suffered even more than he had) by thatemofangirl</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25682824">just when the universe couldn't have gotten any more unfair (it showed him he suffered even more than he had)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatemofangirl/pseuds/thatemofangirl'>thatemofangirl</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>AUgust 2020 [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>AU-gust 2020, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst and Feels, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: The Winter Soldier Spoilers, Confused Steve Rogers, M/M, Magnets, Semi-Canon Compliant, Soulmates, Steve Rogers &amp; Sam Wilson Friendship, Steve on a mission, here we go again with me not knowing how to tag</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 06:01:54</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,618</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25682824</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatemofangirl/pseuds/thatemofangirl</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve Rogers thought he had lost his soulmate in the Swiss Alps in the harsh winter of 1945. </p><p>But in reality, he had lost Bucky to a different Winter. </p><p>Being pulled towards a soulmate who he thought was dead was bad, but being pulled to a soulmate who suffered a fate worse than death is even worse. And now Steve is going to do everything in his power to make it better.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, Steve Rogers &amp; Sam Wilson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>AUgust 2020 [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1858408</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>73</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>just when the universe couldn't have gotten any more unfair (it showed him he suffered even more than he had)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Day 3—Soulmates AU</p><p>I really need to start writing some regular one shots  instead of stuff that leads to a potential series.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Steve was starting to believe he was broken.</p><p>He wouldn't tell anyone that though. He kept that suffering to himself. No one would really understand anyway. He would've bet no one else in the world would have ever still been drawn to their dead soulmate.</p><p>The tugging was erratic, and always in different directions. Some days it would only happen once and not long enough for him to think too much of it, others it would be a constant feeling; an invisible force trying to pull him to his other half.</p><p>Steve was what the world called a Magnet Soulmate.</p><p>There wasn't a term for it back in 1936, when it manifested in him for the first time. He was eighteen. Sure, soulmates were around. In fact, they were celebrated. But they were rare. Two people in the world who were made especially for each other, complimented each other in the ways no one else could ever.</p><p>Most pairs of soulmates had writing that connected them to their other half. A name, a phrase written somewhere on them. Those were the most common soulmate clues. It was out of the ordinary for anyone to have any different, but it did happen. Steve being a Magnet made him even more unique than he already was.</p><p>Steve always knew he was different. He felt attached to Bucky every time he was by his side. And any time they were separated, every part of him seemed to want to be pulled in Bucky's direction.</p><p>At first, Steve thought it was maybe because he already knew he was in love with his best friend, and luckily enough the feelings were requited, but the day he admitted it to him and in reply found out that Bucky had been feeling the same tugging for a year already, the both of them immediately realized that they were soulmates. Perhaps even the first of their kind.</p><p>Bucky did always joke that it felt like he had a constant homing beacon on Steve. That's how it worked, like a personal compass to the other. That's how Bucky always knew where to find Steve right before he got into a fight he couldn't possibly win, and that's how Steve knew exactly where to go to find Bucky when Hydra captured and experimented on the 107th.</p><p>They used to rely on that compass never being wrong, but now, Steve knew it had to be. Steve had seen Bucky fall, seen Bucky die with his own two eyes. There was no way his heart was trying to pull him to a corpse.</p><p>The nights where it happened the most, the continual tugging, Steve spent awake and sitting in his bed, unable to go to sleep. If it happened in the day, it was harder because he couldn't let anyone see. Nearly every time he got close to tears. The first couple of times, he broke down sobbing.</p><p>Steve wondered what would happen if the next time the tugging was steady, he got up and followed it. Wondered where it would lead him. Near an icy ravine in the Swiss Alps? In circles—because the last thing that connected Steve to Bucky was in his own mind?</p><p>The first time it happened in the 21st Century, Steve spent hours firstly trying to figure out how to use the internet, then double that time researching soulmates.</p><p>Magnet Soulmates: the most recherché of all soulmates, only next to being able to feel emotions. There were only three other reported cases in the world, and since Steve never told anyone, it made him the fourth.</p><p>But it being the rarest also meant that it had the least amount of information. Steve couldn't figure out if he was broken or if it was something different entirely. A website written by a soulmate expert said that sometimes if a person lost their soulmate that it was possible for them to find another. The chances were one in a million, but it was possible.</p><p>Steve didn't like that. His heart would always belong to Bucky. Even if it was a lifetime later.</p><p>
  <em>Tug.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Tug, tug. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Stop. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Tug, tug, tug.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Stop.</em>
</p><p>"Hey, Earth to Cap,"</p><p>Steve hadn't even realized he was spacing out until Sam's voice brought him back to reality.</p><p>It happened again. The sporadic tugging. It was urging Steve to walk out of the diner door, but it couldn't decide a direction. Each pulse was trying to pull Steve in a different direction, like it's target was zigzagging or constantly making turns.</p><p>"Sorry," Steve mumbled, staring down at his food while Sam looked up at him, interested, before he took a bite of his burger.</p><p>"Something on your mind?" Sam asked and Steve let out a dry chuckle.</p><p>"That's a pretty vague question. I could give you at least twenty different answers."</p><p>"Hey, we came here to talk. My ears are listening." Sam grinned, leaning back in his seat and then folding his hands in front of him. "Not everyday someone can they had a conversation with Captain America,"</p><p>"Yeah," Steve sighed. "It's fine. Just thinking."</p><p>"Really? That looked like some conflicting thought."</p><p>"You can say that, yeah." Steve smiled as he dismissed the subject. He was trying to hide the uncertainty he was feeling behind it, but by the way Sam's gaze lingered for a second as he studied his expression, he was sure Sam could probably see right through it even though he didn't say anything. Steve was grateful Sam decided not to press.</p><p>"Mm," Sam wiped his mouth after he took another bite. "It's getting pretty late. You said you had an apartment downtown? That's a little ways from here." Steve assumed his eyes caught the time on the clock on the wall.</p><p>Looking back, he saw Sam was right. "I can pay," Steve offered immediately, reaching for his wallet.</p><p>"Nah, it's my treat—" Sam stopped talking when he saw the speed in which Steve already had money out to pay the bill, waving down the waiter.</p><p>This time Steve truly smiled, clearly amused with himself, followed by a short-lasting state of gaiety as he and Sam parted ways. He knew he would see him soon enough. Between their first meeting, seeing him in action at the VA, and the meal they just had to get to know each other a little better, Sam was proving to be a pretty trustworthy friend.</p><p>His stomach settled from the thrill of driving a motorcycle as he walked up the stairs to his apartment. It was nothing fancy; SHIELD approved. He said he didn't care what was in it, but being honest he was relieved it wasn't too large or filled with too many things he didn't know how to use. His only request was that it'd be in Brooklyn. He didn't get that request right away, because the Triskilion was in Washington, but later, SHIELD took care of another apartment, not too dissimilar than his one in DC.</p><p>Just when he thought he would be able to lay down and maybe relax, he got the feeling something was wrong.</p><p>He glanced around, but the hallway was empty. Steve thought he would've noticed if someone had been following him. Steve jingled his keys in his hand, attempting to shake the feeling off because he hadn't been quite right since the Magnet went off when he was out with Sam, but when he reached to slot the key in the lock, he realized there was music playing from inside his apartment.</p><p>Steve paused. He was sure he hadn't left music playing. He got up before dawn and went out for a jog like normal. And then he was out for the rest of the day. He knew he didn't put on any records to play before he left, and he wouldn't have been there to do so any other time either.</p><p>He pocketed his keys and raced back down the stairs. He searched the nearby rooftops to the best of his ability as he went back outside, but between it being dark and the fact that he had a low vantage point, he couldn't see much.</p><p>After circling the building, he started to scale the brick wall, clinging on to the best of his ability as he softly pulled up the window to his apartment before hopping in. He wasn't just hearing things, there really was music playing from inside. Quite loudly.</p><p>He moved quietly and swiftly, staying close to the wall as he scouted his apartment. The lights were dim. Passing the kitchen, he picked up his shield and prepared for a fight.</p><p>He poked his head around the corner that led to the largest living space, and his eyes immediately found the figure sitting in the corner.</p><p>Fury.</p><p>Steve let his defensive posture relax before his face hardened from the invasion of privacy.</p><p>"I don't remember giving you a key."</p><p>Fury grunted, and Steve realized he was in pain. "You really think I'd need one?" Steve turned his head to face him, seeing the phone he had in his hand. "My wife kicked me out."</p><p>"I didn't know you were married."</p><p>"A lot of things you didn't know about me." Fury said with a shake of his head.</p><p>"I know Nick," Steve entered the room and switched on the light. "That's the problem."</p><p>Confusion filled him however, when Fury held out his hand and turned the light back off. Steve's gaze fell back to the phone as Fury typed something out before turning the screen so Steve could read.</p><p>
  <b>Ears everywhere</b>
</p><p>Steve felt uneasy as well as annoyed, taking a quick glance around as if he could spot the bugs on the first once over. They had probably been there far longer than he would've liked. </p><p>"I'm sorry to have to do this, but I had no place else to crash." Steve could now see the injuries on his face as he typed out another message.</p><p>
  <b>SHIELD compromised</b>
</p><p>Steve knew they had to talk in code now. "Who else knows about your wife?"</p><p>
  <em>Tug, tug. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Stop.</em>
</p><p>Steve had to bite back a gasp as he felt his heart race pick up, his muscles wanting to move against his command. Fury being here and SHIELD being compromised was something serious and he needed to focus on that because it meant the both of them could be in danger.</p><p>
  <b>You and me</b>
</p><p>He couldn't allow himself to get sidetracked by his deviant Magnet.</p><p>"Just...my friends." Fury stood up and slowly walked forward</p><p>"Is that what we are?"</p><p>"That's up to you."</p><p>
  <em>Pull.</em>
</p><p>In the split second before he could react, taken aback by the sudden force that wanted to pull Steve's body towards the window, there came gunshots.</p><p>The first one hit Fury. Steve was late to react.</p><p>The second, third, and fourth he assumed were just for precaution. To try and kill if the first shot didn't do it. The moles at SHIELD knew where Fury was and what his intentions for being there were.</p><p>Fury hit the ground, and Steve ducked down to try and hold him. But out of the corner of his eye he saw something silver glint out of the window— in the direction his heart was pulling him.</p><p>Steve dragged Fury's body into the kitchen, away from where anyone could take anymore shots.</p><p>He was about to leave, track down the assassin, when suddenly Fury grabbed his arm. Letting go, Steve saw he was holding out a hard drive.</p><p>Taking it, Fury choked out a sentence between gasping breaths. "Don't trust anyone."</p><p>There was banging on the front door before it opened.</p><p>"Captain Rogers?" He knew that voice. He turned to peer around the corner, his defense back up completely. "Captain, I'm Agent 13 of SHIELD, Special Service."</p><p>"Kate?" Steve didn't understand. Kate was just a nurse. She was his neighbor.</p><p>"I'm assigned to protect you."</p><p>"On whose order?" He demanded. And Kate lowered her gun as she came to him. She paused and gasped as she saw Fury's body on the ground.</p><p>"His."</p><p>She dropped to her knees and tapped Fury's cheek, looked for a pulse, before taking out a walkie talky.</p><p>"Foxtrot is down. He's unresponsive. I need EMTs." She spoke into it.</p><p>[Do we have a 20 on the shooter?] Steve heard a dispatcher replied right away, and he looked back to the window.</p><p>The glint of metal was still there, and this time, Steve could see there was also a man. He had a metal arm. But once Steve looked, the man ran.</p><p>"Tell him I'm in pursuit."</p><p>Steve wasted no time and kicked off the ground. He used his shield as protection as he burst through his apartments window, jumping the distance and smashing into the windows on the building across the street.</p><p>
  <em>Pull.</em>
</p><p>He quickly got up from the tumble and took off running through the building. He listened for the footsteps above him, following those, but for some reason he didn't need to. His heart was already leading him. The man with the metal arm seemed to be what the invisible force was attatched to.</p><p>Questions filled Steve's mind, making his mind race. But he needed to clear it. He wasn't chasing down whoever this man he seemed to be tethered too, he was chasing down the man sent to kill Fury.</p><p>He didn't care what he destroyed as he ran. He vaulted what he could, pushed and smashed through the doors, walls, and any glass that got in the way.</p><p>Soon enough, he got to a hall where at the end, there was a window. He saw the man drop down from the roof, and Steve knew he should have a straight shot from there.</p><p>Steve sped up his pace, jumping through the windows and rolling onto the parallel rooftop.</p><p>Once he stood up, he immediately threw his shield at the man, hoping to knock him down so he could catch up. But to Steve's surprise, the man seemed to know it was coming. His reflexes were just like Steves, and so seemed his strength as the man outstretched his metal arm as he turned and caught Steve's shield, stopping it completely.</p><p>Steve's focus instantly went to the man's face. He was turned, and his instinct was to get an identity. But the man was concealed, wearing a muzzle that took up his entire lower face, and dark eyeshadow smudged around his icy blue eyes.</p><p>
  <em>Pull. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Pull.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Pull.</em>
</p><p>His eyes were intense. Steve could tell that, and the color even from the distance. Steve felt compelled to run to him. There was no mistaking that this man was where his Magnet was leading.</p><p>The longer he stared, those three seconds in which Steve saw the man's face, the more he got the feeling he was familiar in some twisted way. He had seen those eyes before. Never fillled with so much confliction and agony and emptiness, but he had seen them. More than once.</p><p>The man threw the shield back at Steve with enough force to send him skidding back. When he looked up, the man was gone. The distance of the pulling of his Magnet largening with every passing moment.</p><p>The pull was so strong, so constant. There was no mistaking it this time. Somehow, Steve wasn't broken. No, it seemed he had another soulmate.</p><p>But those eyes...</p><p>They were still fresh in his memory, and he was sure he wouldn't forget them anytime soon.</p><p>Those eyes, they didn't make it seem like he had a new soulmate. Instead, it seemed like they were from the same one. Because when Steve looked into those eyes, all he saw was Bucky.</p>
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